I have always loved his skating. His artistry was never appreciated, he was masculine and ahead of his time. Others were doing ballet on ice and he was doing Kata. He was robbed of gold for sure. He made history with being the first to land the quad combo. Him and Michelle Kwan both greats that never won gold.
They totally missed Elvis' point in this program. He should have at least gotten silver. He is one of the greats. Never compromised his own style even when it wasn't popular. He was always rock and roll to the judges favoured ballet music. He never wanted to be ballet and that is unfortunately all the Russian judges seem to care about. That gets boring after a few skaters. How many Carmen's can we stomach. lol
26 years ago and I remember this amazing skate like yesterday!! Artistic marks given to him are disgusting! He was ROBBED of the gold. Thank you Elvis for giving so many of us such joy in watching your artistry! There will NEVER be another Elvis Stojko!
Came back to watch this after Moir and Virtue just won gold. I so remember this performance. Elvis was robbed of the gold. I have the feeling if anyone moved on quickly and did not let it get him down, that would be Elvis. Proud of Canada’s athletes. 🇨🇦
All these years later (2023 now) and still -- if you're not classical and balletic, you get hammered on presentation marks. I have always loved this program, and now that I know something about Chinese martial arts, I'm even more impressed with how he integrated kung fu into this program. It's not balletic, but it's wonderful interpretation of the story from which the music was derived. I will always love me some Kurt Browning, but this program moved me to tears in 1994 and it still does.
'interpretation of the story from which the music was derived' is exactly why some of the artistic scores were too low. That is just uneducated judging.
He makes you understand figure skating and the relationship of the blade to the ice. No excessive upper body movement and yet passion and artistry that the judges missed. He was a great skater the way Baryshnikov was a great dancer. Will always be my yardstick with which to measure other skaters.
Apart from that first big mistake, when he popped a planned triple into a single, this is some of his finest skating. Every other jump after that was landed beautifully without any bobbles. What a shame!
how the f**k is he moving so smoothly!! I know nothing about figure skating but I am so captivated by he's movement that I'm afraid to bling and missed it he should have gotten the gold.
Elvis was the most ground breaking innovative skater. When he skated, you just felt it. Also, he should be commentating at the winter Olympics right now. Tara and Johnny ain't really cutting it.
This was always my favorite routine of his. The music suited him, & also, at the time, that music had not been overused. It's a great piece of music, but it has been used for sooooo many things. When I saw this, it was the first time I had ever heard that music before.
I don't remember who represented the US, but I do remember Elvis from Canada. Elvis' performance in 1994's Olympics has stood out in my mind as an excellent, beautiful performance. Like I remember Krisit's long program from 1992 where she won the gold. I'm still sad that Elvis was robbed because he deserved gold. So happy to see this video 😊
What a wonderful skater and young man what a jumper as well, which helps with triples and quads all the time, My children did Kung-Fu, and got their black belts in it as well, then my daughter went into skating, and it was a case of get a choreographer for her. . Yes, I totally agree with his marks being an ex marks compiler myself, judges are hard to forget a certain person, it takes years, before they get it right.. However Elvis is one of my favourite skaters so is Brian Boitano, Scott Davis etc.
Elvis was inspiring! He was big and Olympic! Where was the effing second gold medal here!!!!! Canadian federation should have protested!!!!!!! Still should! Absurd.
This is very strange to see opinions that Elvis was robbed and Alexei didn't deserve his gold. First of all, Elvis did 7 triples (3Lz, (1A), 3A-3T, 3Lo, 3A, 3F, 3S), Alexei did 8 (3A, 3T, 3Lz, 3A-2T, 3Lo, 3F, 3S, 3T), yes, nowadays 3T isn't a serious jump, but at that time many really good skaters had problems with triples, and 3T was not a great, but also a solid jump. Yes, Alexei had a problem on 3F (thanks to bad ice mb) and his second spin (he had a textbook technics on his jumps, his 3Lz mb the best in FS history, but I agree, he never was a great spinner, not even good), but popped axel of Elvis decided all. I think, there was, in Lillehammer olympics, in men's single skating, one of the hardest rivalry in FS-history, not even between Elvis and Alexei, don't forget about Candeloro, Petrenko, Browning, Boitano... Ok, all of them failed their SP or FS, it was strict for them all morally, returns to Elvis and Alexei and their second mark. They had such different style that it's very difficult to compare them, but it's evident, that they skated from his heart the roles, that were close to them. Alexei always very natural in his ballet image of Prince (typical style for soviet and post-iet skaters, but I really can't remember even one single skater, who was so natural in ballet programs as Alexei), Elvis was a king of modern choreography. One of the biggest advantage of Alexei's skating - his unbelievable connection with his music, Elvis usually connected with it good, even very well, but not perfect. Yes, the judges had their own prejudices, that's true (and canadian judge was unfair to Elvis), but at that competition Alexei was a bit more strong then Elvis, thanks two almost clear programs and perfection of artistic presentation in his own style. For me, Elvis had to win gold in Nagano, because he was totally better then Ilia Kulik in all aspects, and his injury was a great injustice of universe. And one last note. I think, medals can't be undeserved, never. All skaters worked and working extremely hard, and if even judges were unfair, this medal isn't undeserved. That's the result of everyday working since their childhood.
Samantha Madden. I met him when i was a young little fellow in barrie at the arena used to always watch and bug him for his name signed on piece of paper he never said no . he always talked positivly he is a great man
I always loved watching both Elvis and Kurt Browning skate. Watching each of them perform made me so proud to be a fellow Canadian. No matter the routine, you knew it was going to be EPIC! Canada has seen many incredible skaters over the years, but just like in rock'n'roll, Elvis will always be the King!
Just watching the Hudson and Rex episode he’s in recognized him right away, good to see his face again I’ll never forget his performance in this Olympics-🇨🇦😎🍻🥇✌️🖖
I love me some Elvis Stojko!!! I always enjoyed watching him, especially in exhibition shows. At one show, i swore he waved at me!!!! My mom told me he waved to our section but i disagree. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 GOD bless 🙏❤️🙏
Alexei is my ideal type of skater but I’d have given this to Elvis easily. TP:Elvis 5.7/5.9Urmanov 5.8/5.8 LP:Elvis 5.8/5.8Urmanov 5.6/5.7 Artistry is not just about natural talent or looking pretty. It’s about being in tune with your music and having the skating reflect that. It’s a shame the judges were so conservative.
Funny you should say that, it reminded me of Phillipe Candeloro who finished a spot below him at Nagano. I forgot Stojko's routine, except that he as injured, but Candeloro's has stayed in my head since I first saw it when I was 8. That tells ya somethin' XD
Neither Elvis' choreo nor spins were great, but each was miles ahead of Urmanov. Juvenile skaters spin better than Urmanov and aside from the knee wiggles and phone answering, there was essentially no meaningful skating (edges, turns, etc) choreo. Urmanov was prettier, but certainly not better. Even his crossovers were terrible. All the top men were disappointing, but Elvis was least disappointing, in my opinion.
Almost 30 years ago, and I’ll never forget this program. I was a 16 year old skater at that time, and Elvis and Kurt inspired me to keep going. Through the pain, the sleepless nights, and the heartache.
I think Elvis Stoyko was a great skater, very strong skater, but I never liked him much, because he always seemed so arrogant, so full of himself. To me, that is such a turnoff in a person. He got a pretty low score from Russia.
Actually, no. I adore Elvis and he was a major influence on jumpers in the sport. But the greatest jump skaters in terms of technique are Evgeni Plushenko and Yuzuru Hanyu. They have perfect air position, even stronger and faster rotation, and almost perfect form. They can also do three-jump combinations that Elvis just did not do. I expect that Yuzu will be the man to land the first quad axel. But neither would have made the strides in jumping that they did without Elvis's example. I think Plush would acknowledge that; he admired Stojko and couldn't quite believe that he beat Elvis in Skate Canada 1998.
I think the real problem with this program was that in the end Elvis ended up without a second combo. When he missed the first combo he never really replaced it which is a shame.
Elvis was NOT "robbed" of the gold in '94. I'm not a huge fan of either skater, but even I can see why Urmanov won. Both skaters had a big mistake in the LP. Stojko blew his axle combination, and Urmanov blew his triple flip. Both skaters replaced those jumps later in their programs. So...all things being equal with no other mistakes....we must look at the finer details to determine who was the better all-around skater. Easily, Urmanov had the better technique and form with the perfect checkout position on his jumps, as well as effortless jumping and great form in the air. Urmanov also was much more lyrical, had better body awareness and sense of the music, regardless of some stupid movements, like the knee knocking. Stojko, however, never had good form or technique. He muscled through all his jumps. Nothing ever looked effortless or felt easy. His landing position was always ugly with chest low over the front of the skate and back leg bent. He also struggled with his artistic presentation throughout his career. His body line was never good, largely because of his short and stocky stature. All these things taken into account, Urmanov deserved his gold because he was clearly the better all-around skater. Had Urmanov made a second mistake in his LP that wasn't corrected, then it would have been a different story, but they each made mistakes that they corrected later. All things being equal, Urmanov was the better skater. Stojko's time to win was 1998 because Kulik was young and green. He skated like a juvenile. Unfortunately, Stojko was injured, and it wasn't meant to be.
Urmanov didn't just blow his triple flip....when he tripped out of the landing, he was lucky that he didn't go face first into the boards, which he missed by inches. Urmanov was also obviously completely gassed by the end of his free skate, and both his choreography and costuming were the same old boring stuff that we had seen so many times before. However, the conservative judges wanted ballet and not martial arts on ice (and by the way, martial arts is about grace AND power, which Elvis did a lovely job of showcasing), and they certainly didn't want to see or hear techno during the short programme either. In a nutshell, this is why I have a hard time thinking of figure skating as a "sport", as it comes down to subjective opinion by the judges (so both politics and reputation get worked in) rather than an empirical standard like time or distance. If you want to talk about a bigger robbery, I think the 1988 ladies competition takes the cake.
@@KaratekaII I won't argue with you on the '88 ladies. I completely get where you're coming from there. Still, it's just one in a long line of robberies that always seem to feature U.S. or Canadian skaters conveniently losing to eastern bloc skaters: Fratiannie loses to Potzsch in '80, Manly loses to Witt in '88, Wylie loses to Petrenko in '92, Kerrigan loses to Baiul in '94, Sale-Pelltiere lose to Berezhnaya-Sikharulidze in '02. Although not from North America, Kim Yuna loses to Sotnikova in '18 also qualifies as an eastern bloc robbery. Every time, it's in favor of an eastern bloc skater. Every. Time. The hardest ones for me to accept are Wylie in '92 and Kerrigan in '94. Wylie was flawless in his SP and received 5.3 - 5.4! He should have been at least second going into the LP. Petrenko tanked badly, falling on 3 or 4 jumps in his LP and still won gold. It's the most unworthy men's gold medal program I've ever seen. Wylie had a few small mistakes but stayed on his feet and skated triumphantly. He lost gold because he was severely under-marked in the SP and left 3rd going into the LP, which he won. Totally robbed of gold. In '94, Olympic press coverage was all over Baiul, dubbing her the "Orphan from Odessa". If they said it once, they said it a thousand times. They played up Peternko being her godfather and all her disadvantages. I began to see what they were doing. They were laying the groundwork for a decision that had already been made. I could see the headlines: "Ukrainian Orphan Wins Gold Medal with Previous Gold Medal-Winning Godfather By Her Side". It was to be the feel-good story of the Games. The more the message was repeated in the media, I knew Kerrigan would lose no matter how well she skated. Except for doubling a planned triple flip in her LP, Kerrigan was flawless in both parts of the competition and sophisticated in a classic style that would later be emulated by Michelle Kwan, Kim Yuna, and others. Baiul struggled through a LP full of two-foot landings, shaky awkward checkout positions, slow spins and without a single jump combination until she tacked on a double toe loop literally in the last seconds of her program. All this in a pink flamingo feathery dress complete with juvenile choreography and ponytail scrunchie. The fact remains that outside of the technical advancement in ladies skating, you could take either of Kerrigan's programs and style from the '94 Games and place them in a competition today, and they wouldn't look out of place at all. That can't be said for Baiul's routines, especially her LP, which hasn't aged well. People can say what they want about Kerrigan's personality or attitude, but I would have been pissed, too. Kerrigan knows she got screwed, and so does everyone else who understands skating.
@@L1623VP I agree with you about Kerrigan and Baiul, notwithstanding Oksana's charm. I also remember that I was so angry about Paul Wylie losing to Viktor Petrenko, even though I liked both skaters. But I recently revisited those two programs to try to figure out how Viktor, with one of his less successful skates, beat a gorgeous free skate from Paul. The answer jumped out at me. Paul's skate was still beautiful, and Viktor had one (not three) falls, while his program ran out of a bit of steam at the end But Viktor completed more jumps in combination and that's what really told the tale. We know combination jumps receive higher scores, as they should. That said, the Lillehammer Olympics featured some of the worst judging in all of the disciplines I've ever seen. Some of it still makes me wince today.
@@cherylhulting1301 Petrenko fell once, but fell out of two other jumps, and had some downgrades, as I recall. He really ran out of steam as the LP progressed and became sloppy and unsteady. He also wasn't on par with Paul artistically. The only reason Petrenko won is because Paul was severely held back in the SP. Look it up on YT. It's absolutely fantastic; the SP of his life, and he got 5.3-54, when it should have been at least 5.8 technical and 5.9 artistic across the board. Had he received the scores he deserved and at least ended up in second after the SP instead of third, he'd have won gold because he won the LP, as well. Paul was well-known for being inconsistent, but had the skate of his life in both programs at the '92 Olympics, but the judges scored him based on his past reputation, and not what he put down on the ice both nights.
Subjectiveness is but a biased take on the intangibles. I clearly do not agree with your analysis, as it is flawed in its most basic concepts. For example, you note on Stojko's jump technique and landing positions; labelling them as "never had good form or technique", or "muscled through". That in itself is absolutely ludicrous. Anyone who knows anything about figure skating can see that Stojko's jumps were of perfect pedigree. Everything from air position, to take off edges as well as controlled landing positions were of the utmost quality. Superb to say the least. For example, the edge control alone on the landing of his triple luts was awe inspiring. Your analysis is severely flawed and to say the least almost laughable. And as far as artistry is concerned. Well the notion of artistry itself is the most subjective concept in existence. As artistry is a personal preference and both metaphorically and literally lies in the eyes of the beholder. Stojko's artistry came from within his mind and soul, he played it out for anyone who was willing and able to see beyond the established norm of the day. And to say that Urmanov had better body awareness is beyond insanity. No athlete in figure skating history has ever been more in tune with his body and soul than Elvis Stojko.
